nitrate control

[henry]

i have a 29g tank with a high bio-load. My filtration is a emperor 280 filter and a protein skimmer. My nitrate is at 20ppm. Would adding a canister filter like a fluval 204 help control or lower my nitrate. Im also using a "polyfilter" in my emeperor 280, anyone heard any good/bad things about using the polyfilter in a salwatertank?

[Reefbaby]

Hello Henry - could you give us a little more info on your system? For instance, what kind of substrate do you have and how deep is it?
The polyfilter can be a nitrate factory if not changed very regularly - be careful with this. I only use the polyfilter when I've stirred up everything in my tank and caused a storm. In order to capture the majority of the debris without it going right back into the tank, I put the polyfilter in overnight, but am pretty regiment about getting it out again.

[henry]

i have a 3-4 inch sand bed, with about 8-10lbs of live rock, which is basically just for decoration

[Reefbaby]

I think you want to be aiming towards at least 1lb live rock/gallon water, if not more. This will help to significantly increase your denitrifying bacterial population.

Is your sand super fine or coral sand? The reason I'm asking is because larger grains of sand will only serve to trap detritus if not stirred up frequently and will ultimately result in high nitrate levels.
For a deep sand bed (DSB), you should be aiming at a minimum of 4" of super fine sand (preferably aragonite-based). DSBs are super at reducing nitrate levels (well, rather the bacteria residing in them!) :-)

How long has your tank been up and running?

[Rob]

Henry...
the 10 Lbs of LR is quite low.. that is part of the issue.
the filter (emperor 280) is another major issue, these filters use bio-wheels. which are super nitrite removers, but nitrite is removed by converting them to nitrates, which makes them super nitrate factories.
a canister filter will only amplify this effect.

1. remove the bio-wheel - they are nitrate factories and only meant for FO tanks
2. add another inch or two to the sand bed - will help a lot with nitrate removal
3. remove the polyfilter - if not replaced all the time they are detrius traps and eventually lead to increased nitrate
4. replace polyfilter with carbon, or ditch the emperor all together - with a good skimmer, DSB, enough LR and enough current you really done need this at all...
5. opt for a better skimmer. - a good skimmer will be your best piece of equipment
6. add another 3 Lbs of live rock - this, like the DSB, is a great tool to reduce nitrates
7. boost the tank current to about 25-20 tanks an hours - this will help make sure water gets moved through the LR, helps ensure a good gas exchange, increases tank metabolism, prevents excess detrius build up (which leads to nitrates)

hope this help.. please let us know if you need further clarification..

[Bernie]

Rob and others...

I had a high reading of nitrates in my tank this weekend and promptly removed the biowheels from my filter as well as the poly/carbon filters and the carbon boxes.

I then busted up some old live rock that was hanging out in a rubbermaid in the garage and put all that rubble in the back of the filter.

Do you think this is a safe thing to do? Or will the rubble just end up catching debris and getting all gunked up? It gets plenty of light, maybe I should try to make a 'fuge out of it... any thoughts?

Thanks,
Bernie

[Rob]

the rubble actually wont do much for ya..
you need live rock...

that said, the removal of the other stuff should help, or at least prevent it from going higher

what i would have done was add the live rock (once well rinsed and cleaned) directly to the tank. it will take a few month, but it will become LR in time.

i would also start regular weekly water changes, or small changes twice weekly to keep the levels back in check.

and if you can add more LR, then do so, if you can, see if you can do base rock (dead rock) as i mentioned in time it will become LR..

that should complete your first few steps to lowering the nitrates..

[Bernie]

Thanks Rob... the rock that I busted up was actually live rock that I had removed from my FOWLR tank and replaced with smaller pieces. I kept it in a rubbermaid full of saltwater with a filter and heater running on it, but the only light it got was from the overhead in the garage. So it should still be partially "live", right?

[kj_yoda]

Bernie... Only time will tell with the Live rock.

[Rob]

it "should" be fine..
LR really doesn't need much light, if any at all...

[henry]

....i should have been more specific, i only have that much LR because its a FO tank. I DID have a lot more LR in the tank , about 30lbs of it, but i changed my mind about having a reef tank . I know having nitrate in check is a lot more important in reef tanks than it is in FO tanks, but i want to keep my